Time between Times Storytelling with Owen Staton. The Beast of Pontrhydyfen

The Beast of Pontrhydyfen

Welcome back to the firepit at the heart of the forest, my friends.

Tonight’s story is a little different.

Because this is not simply a tale I found in an old book or discovered in some forgotten newspaper. This is a story that takes me back to my own childhood, to the village of Pontrhydyfen in the Afan Valley in the early 1980s.

I was at school there when rumours began to spread about something strange moving through the hills around Tonmawr and Pontrhydyfen.

A great cat.

Something wild.

Something that, according to the stories, had no business being there.

For us children, the creature quickly became the talk of the playground. We whispered about sightings, footprints and enormous cats hiding in the woods. And at times, we were even told not to play outside.

I remember the feeling of looking towards those dark Welsh hills and wondering what might be hiding amongst the trees.

Decades later, reports from the period would tell of large cats seen around Tonmawr, including a remarkable series of alleged photographs. Some witnesses believed they had seen a leopard or puma. Others suggested more ordinary explanations.

But perhaps the truth isn’t quite the point.

Because when you are a child, a mystery can become part of the landscape itself.

And sometimes, long after the story has faded from the playground, you can still look towards those hills and remember…

What if it really was there?

So tonight, draw a little closer to the fire.

Let the mist settle over the Afan Valley.

Listen for the river beneath the old bridge.

And keep your eyes on the dark hills above Pontrhydyfen…

Because somewhere out there, perhaps, something is still watching.

Welcome…

to the Time Between Times.

Nos da, my friends.

Owen x

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